I think it would be a simple matter to open up football without any changes to the rules at all, just change competition scoring. 3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw but no goal no points. So a nil all draw is worthless to both teams. So even if you are in a position where you are happy to draw (as happens in several groups every World Cup) your first order of business is to slot one home.
Very few games get played for a draw from the start. Only in small leagues such as the four-team ones in the world cup is this a typical situation. In more normal competition, nil-nil draws can just as easily be skillful, entertaining end-to-end stuff.
Yep … I do know that it wouldn’t result in lots of corner kicks.
What I was trying to get across was that – in my offsides-free reverie – fans could enjoy that “ball in the air” anticipation more often every game … the same kind of anticipation fans enjoy now during corner kicks.
But when I wake up … I do know that don’t ask’s points hold true.
As for the offsides-plus-5m rule being harder to apply … eh :shrug: … so be it. There are many judgement calls like that in American football that rely on distance estimation … football/soccer referees could handle it if they needed to.
The offside rule was originally that three players had to be between the attacking player and the end line when the ball was delivered. This was changed to the now familiar two player rule in 1925 and when that happened the offense opened up considerably.
Man, I had to groan when that 5-10m rule was suggested. I have been reffing football since high school and I would not enjoy making a call that requires a guesstimation. Really it would just be another excuse for parents to yell at me. I could not imagine it being easy to make that call at a level where the pace of the game is significantly more advanced.
In American football there really are not that many calls that rely on distance estimation. More importantly, there are yard lines on the field that make those calls fairly easy to make.
With regards to the OP, my experience has taught me that certain players develop these habits early on. One of the worst habits that I see in professional athletes is not playing till the whistle. It lacks of sportsmanship and sets a terrible example for youth who are learning about the fundamentals of the game. As much as I hate this behavior, most players who beg for calls are just using all of their available resources to gain an advantage.
Re: the field markings – good point.
I’m thinking of American football calls like illegal man downfield, giving space to a player receiving a fair catch, steps a defender can take before sacking a QB without the ball, etc.
I always thought that hockey did it the best, with the “last defender”* being replaced by a static line. Can’t cross that line til the puck does, then all bets are off (offsideswise). I wonder if something like that would work in soccer? It would leave in the blatant offsides where the open man is well ahead of the play (and eliminate having players hang by the goal when the ball hasn’t crossed the line yet), but once the ball crosses the line it would take away the ticky-tack stuff of an open man being two inches behind the last defender, or the defender moving up just to trap. Maybe a line at about the 1/4 field mark?
- by last defender I mean defender plus the goalie
Good thinking, Fear.
A static line would interfere with all sorts of normal play, such as a winger under pressure passing back to the midfield in order to retain posession and build up another attack. What you’re trying to do is say “football shouldn’t be like this, it should be more like xyz, with faster attacks”, which is missing the point entirely. Football is full of fast attacks, but the return rate is very low, making successful play, and goals, all the more prized.
I believe that this is why the offside was implemented in the first place. People watch great goals get called back and think that eliminating offside would mean more goals, but that’s not what would happen. We’d end up with some pretty ugly soccer. The offside rule creates entertaining attacking soccer.
I am not sure I agree with this. Any defence can do that now, it is not obigatory to play offside. If the defence stays too far back it opens up the midfield for the opposing team. Attacks may then turn out to be more like corners. But it is not that often that a goal is scored by beating offside. You will more often see a goal being scored through a defence already in the positions they would be in if there was no offside.
I think a no offside rule would open the game up more.
I think that dont ask was referring to the offense planting a player deep in the opposing team’s territory and feeding him long passes over the defense. Kind of like cherry picking in basketball.
The lumbering giant referred to would be a striker, not a defender.
90 minutes of corners sounds boring to me. At the moment, they’re something earned in themselves, by a strong attack which prevents the defence from gaining possession or from clearing down the pitch.